Kantar unites brands under single banner while adding on-demand service

Professional services firm Kantar has further consolidated its roster of brands, with its suite of offerings to now operate under the single name: Kantar.

After only last year folding four of its firms – Kantar Added Value, Kantar Futures, Kantar Vermeer and Kantar Retail – into the single growth consultancy Kantar Consulting, the Kantar Consulting brand has now given way itself – with all of Kantar’s current services and brand divisions to operate under the single Kantar banner from the beginning of next month.

“We live in a new era of consumption. Growth can no longer be assumed, yet there are more, not fewer, opportunities to build breakout brands and new lines of business,” said Kantar Consulting’s newly appointed chief Phil Smiley at the time of the merger. “Future growth exists, but beyond the comfort zone of most organisations; it is more granular, less siloed and more opportunistic.”

Now, Kantar Consulting will be retired along with a host of other global and country-specific Kantar brands – such as Kantar Health, Kantar Media, Kantar Public, Kantar Worldpanel, and Lightspeed – in the latest signal of the widespread market disruption due to encroachment from the likes of Accenture and Deloitte, and the rush to reposition. The change-up comes amidst news that parent WPP is pushing ahead with plans to offload a majority share of Kantar.“The change in our branding reflects the operational changes already happening across our company, and is driven by a desire to achieve simplicity, scale and impact for our clients,” said Kantar CEO Eric Salama of the latest development. “Removing barriers to co-creation and purposeful collaboration across our organisation will make it easier for Kantar to build platforms and offers globally that address our clients’ most pressing needs.”

The news, however, comes on the back of Kantar launching a new global brand only a fortnight past – Kantar Marketplace – which serves as an on-demand research and insights store with a consolidated suite of offerings. Among 30 countries worldwide, the service is currently available to Asian customers in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore (where Kantar also last month launched a retail and shopper practice), with South Korea to be added by the end of the month.

Kantar Marketplace CEO Will Galgey said; “The speed at which our clients’ competitive environments evolve is ever faster. Our clients expect us to support them in that challenge. Kantar Marketplace is a key part of our response; delivering fast and accurate research at a fraction of the usual time and cost. As we launch more solutions in to the store it will transform the way we engage with, and support, our clients.”

With revenues above the $3.5 billion mark, Kantar altogether has some 30,000 employees operating in 100 countries worldwide, roughly 1,000 of those who are with Kantar Consulting. While company heads have reportedly denied that the rebranding is part of an effort to attract buyers, analysts believe a sale could attract up to $4 billion, with Salama recently rumoured to be exploring options for a management buy-out.

Related: Caspar Schlickum appointed APAC head of Accenture Interactive Operations.